Flyers roster could include Schenn and Couturier

Though it will be tricky fitting the two centers under the $64.3 million salary cap, Flyers general manager Paul Holmgren said there is a chance the Flyers will start the season with both Brayden Schenn and Sean Couturier on their roster.

Then again, Schenn's health - he apparently has a shoulder injury - could factor into the Flyers' decision.

Holmgren doesn't expect to have his roster finalized until 3 p.m. Wednesday, one day before the Flyers' opener in Boston. The Flyers have two exhibition games remaining: Thursday against the visiting Devils and Saturday in New Jersey.

Asked whether Schenn's injury could affect his making the team, Holmgren said: "I don't know that it has any bearing or not. We like him. We think he's going to play for us at some point."

"It's a shame for him, because he probably would have played at least one of these games," Holmgren added after Wednesday's practice in Voorhees.

If Schenn and Couturier make the team, it might affect the status of rookie forward Matt Read, who has been one of the Flyers' most impressive players in camp.

Couturier, 18, can be sent back to juniors, or the Flyers might keep him on the roster for up to 10 games and then move him to juniors if they don't think he is NHL-ready.

Couturier's $1.3 million cap number is a "slippery slope," Holmgren acknowledged but added: "The more time Sean stays here is better for him - and for the Flyers in the long run. He's forced to play at a high tempo that he wouldn't get if he's sent back" and a chance to work in the weight room with the players. "Seeds can be planted on things he needs to work on."

Holmgren said he was happy with the performances of Couturier and Schenn in camp.

"I think Brayden has a little more scoring ability, and Sean is a little more well-rounded player who probably looks to pass more than Brayden," he said.

Holmgren said it was "not out of the question" that both make the team.

With two exhibitions remaining, a lot can happen to change the Flyers' plans, but here is how the lines could look for next week's opener:

Danny Briere centering Scott Hartnell and Jakub Voracek.

Claude Giroux centering James van Riemsdyk and Jaromir Jagr.

Schenn centering Wayne Simmonds and Read or Couturier.

Blair Betts centering Zac Rinaldo and Max Talbot.

The defense probably will look like this:

Chris Pronger and Matt Carle, Kimmo Timonen and Braydon Coburn, Andrej Meszaros and Andreas Lilja. Oskars Bartulis would be the extra defender.

Ilya Bryzgalov and Sergei Bobrovsky at goalie.

Left winger Jody Shelley will start the year on the suspended list for five games, but his $1.1 million cap hit will count.

If Read ($900,000 cap hit) makes the team instead of Couturier, the Flyers will be about $742,000 under the $64.3 million cap. If Couturier is on the roster instead of Read, the club will be about $267,000 under the cap.

Other possibilities include Schenn's ($3.1 million) getting sent to the Phantoms - unlikely if the 20-year-old is healthy - or penalty-killing whiz Betts' ($700,000) being put on waivers. Andreas Nodl, who is injured, also could work his way onto the roster.

All of these moves assume that Ian Laperierre is placed on the long-term injured list.

Banana thrower caught. Chris Moorhouse, 26, admitted to throwing a banana on the ice at Simmonds in last Thursday's exhibition in London, Ontario, it was announced at a news conference Wednesday.

Moorhouse was charged with a provincial offense (not a criminal offense) and "engaging in a prohibited activity." He can be fined a maximum of $2,000.

London police said that Moorhouse was remorseful and that the actions did not meet the threshold for a hate-crime charge.

Brad Duncan, the London police chief, discouraged anyone "from taking the matter in their own hands."

Suspension. The NHL suspended Tom Sestito for four games - two in the preseason, two in the regular season - for his boarding major against the New York Rangers on Monday. Sestito, who will forfeit about $6,000 in salary, cleared waivers Wednesday and was sent to the Phantoms.